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Utah Bill Mounts Challenge to Federal Education Law

In the most specific challenge by any state to President Bush's signature education law, the Utah House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill yesterday requiring state officials to give higher priority to local educational goals than to those of the federal law, and to spend as little state money as possible to comply with it.

The bill challenging the federal law, known as No Child Left Behind, will go to the Utah Senate, where it enjoys considerable support, said its sponsor, State Representative Margaret Dayton.

Federal officials had sought to prevent the bill's passage, and Utah officials said a delegation from the Department of Education was expected in Salt Lake City today.

"Our goal is to maintain state sovereignty," Ms. Dayton said, moments before the 75-member House voted 72 to 0 in favor of her bill, with three lawmakers absent. The House has 57 Republicans and 18 Democrats.

Ms. Dayton is a conservative Republican and a supporter of Mr. Bush, but she said in an interview that she was passionate about states' rights to control their own schools. That view appeared widespread among her bill's supporters.

"We are strong supporters of President Bush," Representative Stephen Urquhart, the majority whip, said in a statement posted on his Web site. "But that doesn't mean that No Child Left Behind isn't seriously flawed."

The federal law requires standardized testing in Grades 3 through 8 and once in high school and imposes penalties on schools in which students fail to make steady progress. Congress passed the measure with bipartisan support in 2001. Support from Democrats has since withered, but vigorous challenges have come from Republican state legislators who view the measure as an unwanted mandate from Washington in an area traditionally left to states.

Utah officials have frequently complained about the law's reporting requirements. In the debate yesterday, Ms. Dayton said federal officials were demanding new reports that would cost $400,000.

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Last year, the Utah House approved a measure prohibiting the spending of state money to comply with the federal law. But the Bush administration persuaded the Senate to kill the bill after threatening the state with the loss of $106 million in federal education money.

The action last year by the House inspired similar actions nationwide. Legislatures in some 30 states considered challenges to the federal law. This year, the legislatures in Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Vermont and Virginia are considering challenges.

"No Child Left Behind is one of the most important issues of federal intrusion in state affairs that we've faced," said State Representative Kory M. Holdaway, a Republican, speaking for Ms. Dayton's bill in yesterday's debate. "This is a message bill. We want to send a message to the federal government that Utah has a great education system and we know best how to manage it."

The bill orders officials in the Office of Education and in the state's 40 local school districts to "provide first priority to meeting state goals" when they conflict with the federal law and to "minimize additional state resources that are diverted to implement federal programs beyond the federal monies that are provided to fund the programs."

Patti Harrington, the state superintendent of public instruction, had endorsed the bill, which also had support from Utah groups including the teachers' union, the Utah School Boards Association and the conservative Eagle Forum.

Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr., a Republican who took office last month, criticized No Child Left Behind during last year's campaign.